Paul Coates — April 18, 1959

Posted on April 18, 2009 by lmharnisch

Ventura County

Vice Jury May Call Cohen

BY PAUL COATES
Staff Columnist

Former
gambling czar Mickey Cohen may be called before a Ventura County grand
jury to discuss his possible connection with prostitution, commercial
sex parties and organized crime in Oxnard and Ventura, I learned today.

Ventura County law enforcement officers have launched a full-scale probe of a ring which assertedly panders to Hollywood playboys for pastimes now denied them in the rigid confines of the Sunset Strip.

Woman's Tip Told

The
investigation, by police in Oxnard and Ventura and the district
attorney's office, was touched off when a former, self-confessed
prostitute blew the whistle on what she termed syndicated crime in
Ventura County.

She also charged that the gangster invasion of Oxnard and Ventura was masterminded by "certain gentlemen from Detroit."

But
the organization, she alleges, has connections in Los Angeles and many
customers she entertained traveled from L.A. and surrounding
communities.

Cohen Call Told

Cohen's
name was introduced to the case when a source close to the district
attorney's office said the some-time racketeer may be included in
future grand jury subpoena lists.

Mickey, of course, denied any connection with prostitution anywhere.

"Look," he told me, "you know my record. I've never been mixed up in either prostitution or narcotics."

I
asked him if he was on friendly terms with a certain businessman in
Oxnard and if, according to allegations, he had visited the man on
several occasions.

Friend of Friend

"I
have a friend who owns a bar in Oxnard," he began, then interrupted
himself. "No, that's not right. I know a guy whose brother runs a bar
in Oxnard."

That's all Mickey had to say on the subject.

Woodruff Deem, chief criminal complaint deputy for Ventura Dist. Atty Roy Gustafson, told me that his office is heading up the vice probe.

Thus far, grand jurors have heard testimony from 28 witnesses, including the former prostitute.

Other
witnesses who appeared before the jury last March 30 include prominent
Oxnard businessmen. They refused to talk with reporters about their
testimony.

The former prostitute assertedly told jurors that she had been the star attraction at numerous parties arranged by the gangster element.

She also charged, it is understood, that one Oxnard businessmen's
organization sponsored some of the stag parties, which featured nude
dancing by girls, the showing of lewd films, and mingling of male
guests and female "stars" before the assembled group.

Party 'Bait'

In fact, she reportedly told the jury, she was used as a lure to tempt men to join the group.

"They'd promise prospective members that they could 'date me' if they'd join," she said.

She
charged that eight girls were employed by the syndicate to operate in
at least four nightclubs in Oxnard and Ventura. The girls' total take
was estimated to be in excess of $5,600 a week, with much more going to
the organization's male leaders.

Was Confident

Oxnard
Police Chief Al Jewell conceded that his office felt it had a "strong
case" when he took it to the district attorney's office.

Is he disappointed that his investigation hasn't resulted in indictments by the grand jury?

"Well," he answered carefully, "as a law enforcement officer I am always interested in results."

The
alleged vice activities reportedly began about three years ago during a
community battle in Oxnard over the selection of a new police chief.

Crime Fighter

Subsequently,
Chief Jewell, a nominee and dedicated fighter against crime, was
selected to lead the Police Department after considerable pressure was
brought to bear on the City Council.

Lee Grimes, managing editor
of the Oxnard Press-Courier and grand jury foreman, has refused to
discuss the probe, even with his own reporters.

Deputy Dist. Atty Deem, pressed for an answer on the infiltration of Detroit hoodlums, would only say:

"Well, we do know that there are certain Detroit people in business here."

Fatherhood Charged

The
self-confessed prostitute, who said she made between $200 and $300 on
weekends from her illicit activities, ignited the investigation after a
businessman refused to acknowledge her child, a boy she claims was
fathered by him.

In her discussions with law enforcement officers, she assertedly
charged that one of her sisters in the world's oldest business had been
murdered by the syndicate to prevent her escaping its clutches.

Posted in Columnists, Mickey Cohen, Paul Coates | Comments Off

In the Theaters — April 18, 1953

Posted on April 18, 2009 by lmharnisch

Posted in Film, Hollywood | Comments Off

Second Takes — Billy Wilder

Posted on April 18, 2009 by lmharnisch

Feb. 13, 1951, Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard

Feb. 13, 1951: Gloria Swanson (Best Actress), William Holden (Best Actor), Nancy Olson (Best Supporting Actress) and Erich von Stroheim (Best Supporting Actor) are nominated for Academy Awards. "Sunset Boulevard" is nominated as best picture; Billy Wilder is nominated as best director and Wilder, Charles Brackett and D.M. Marshman Jr. are nominated for best story and screenplay. The film's 11 nominations include best art direction, black and white, Edwin B. Willis and Hugh Hunt; best black and white cinematography, John Seitz; film editing, Arthur Schmidt and Doane Harrison; and film score, Franz Waxman.

The film won three awards: film score, art direction and writing.

At right, April 18, 1951, Swanson was a sentinmental favorite for an Academy Award, but she didn't win. Instead, the Oscar went to Judy Holliday for "Born Yesterday.."

April 8, 1951, Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard

Feb. 25, 1951, Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard

"Since working with a man as stimulating as Billy Wilder, I've become terribly interested in directing," Holden says.

"Holden had himself named 'assistant to the director' when Wilder started 'Ace in the Hole,' but they soon called him away to slap on the greasepaint."

March 1, 1951, Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard

March 1, 1951: Swanson wins a Golden Globe.

March 29, 1951, Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard

The Academy Awards, March 29, 1951.

March 30, 1951, Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Second Takes | 1 Comment

Gold Hunters Dig for Lost Underground Empire of the Lizard People!

Posted on April 18, 2009 by lmharnisch

I thought it would be fun to explore the story of the “Lizard People,” which is to say the excavations on Fort Moore Hill in an unsuccessful search for gold. G. Warren Shufelt usually gets the credit for the enterprise, but his partners deserve equal attention. The Times reported that Rex. I. McCreery and Ray Martin provided an ancient parchment map showing the Lizard People’s underground empire, which allegedly stretched from the Central Library on 5th Street to the Southwest Museum, which you must admit is a lot of digging.Earlier Times clips report that Shufelt had been a mining engineer employed by a mine in Kingman, Ariz., so evidently he was legitimate. Unfortunately, The Times’ stories about the gold excavation are vague and conflicting about the origin of the map. Most stories say it belonged to McCreery and Martin, who presumably brought in Shufelt as a partner because he was a mining engineer. Our later story says Shufelt got the map from “Little Chief Greenleaf” alias L. Macklin.

Aug. 15, 1897: An early story about gold buried on Fort Moore Hill.

March 3, 1933: Gold hunters are excavating directly over the Broadway tunnel, a long-gone downtown landmark that was just north of the Hall of Justice. Evidently they didn’t question why the crews digging the tunnel didn’t find anything.

March 4, 1933: Gold hunters consult their ancient map.

March 7, 1933: Onlookers apparently heckled the diggers.

March 9, 1933: They’re close!

March 27, 1933: The hunters are secretive about their map, attributing it to the Spanish rather than the Lizard People.

April 10, 1933: The Board of Supervisors allows digging to continue.

Sept. 7, 1933: Shufelt, McCreery and Martin have given up, but Alfred Scott comes forward to carry on the search.

Dec. 22, 1938: Times columnist Ed Ainsworth takes a look at various legends of lost California gold as engineer Roger J. Adams begins digging. According to The Times’ clips, a fair amount of dirt from Fort Moore Hill was used as fill during construction of Union Station. The job was done mostly by hand, with men using picks and shovels as a public works project to provide jobs during the Depression.

Photograph by R.L. Oliver / Los Angeles Times

Sept. 21, 1949: Demolition of the Broadway tunnel failed to reveal any buried gold.

Posted in Architecture, Downtown | Comments Off

Found on EBay — Oviatt’s

Posted on April 17, 2009 by lmharnisch

This vest from Oviatt's has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $14.95.

Posted in Fashion | Comments Off

Matt Weinstock — April 17, 1959

Posted on April 17, 2009 by lmharnisch

Cans! Cans! Cans!

The man on the phone, asking a moment of my time, sounded reasonable — at first.

"You might want to write about this," he said. "I think I know why people are so tense and nervous and jumpy."

Pencil poised, I waited.

"Cans!" he said.

Right there I began cringing.

"It
started with the incinerator ban," he said. "Until then all a person
had to worry about was putting out the garbage can on Mondays and
Thursdays and the bottles and cans on alternate Wednesdays, at least in
my neighborhood.

"All of a sudden," he continued, "people had to
gather their old papers and wrappings and cartons and leaves and twigs
and put them out at the curb on Tuesdays — three canfuls for me.

"A
person needs a bookkeeping system to keep up with what day is which. I
get so mixed up I catch myself putting the garbage out on combustible
rubbish day and sometimes I forget can day entirely."

"And," he scolded, "we've still got smog!"

A FUNERAL DIRECTOR out
toward San Gabriel a few days ago engaged a travel agent to arrange to
ship the remains of the recently deceased elsewhere for burial, with a
slightly macabre result.

The travel agent called an airline and
inquired about procedure. The airline man, apparently reluctant to
handle this type of business, said one way was to ship the deceased air
freight, otherwise a regular ticket would be required. The travel agent
said this might not always be satisfactory because of the time element.
"What about C.O.D.?" he pursued.

"Suppose the people at the other end refused to accept the remains?" the airline man countered.

The
travel agent, sensing he was losing ground, retorted, "I guess it's
like anything else — if they don't pay, you just keep the merchandise."

YOU KNOW all those jokes about the Fuller Brush man? Well, today we have a slight case of rebuttal.

John
Owen, who has a territory in Hollywood, knocked on a door and a lady
invited him in. He realized she had been expecting someone else who
hadn't appeared.

He went ahead displaying his brushes and
cleaners and cosmetics, but it was obvious she was not in a buying
mood. Her mind was on romance. He fled with the reputation of all
Fuller Brush men intact.

WEIRD EXCHANGE between two women overheard on the veranda of the Coronado Hotel:

"You know, my son is a normal child."

"Very normal?"

"Yes."

I THINK I have finally figured out why TV car salesmen mispronounce it "Chevalay." They think it was named for Maurice Chevrolet.

PUBLIC AT LARGE —
What this country needs, Seymour Mandel contends, is a credit card
Uncle Sam will honor for taxes … Of a lady executive he has
encountered, Paul Grimes says, "She's easy to talk to — if you can
interrupt her."

TIME OUT

Tomorrow's blinds are drawn —
And yesterday? So what!
Go scratch your back, and yawn–
Today's all that you've got.
–JOSEPH P. KRENGEL

AROUND TOWN — A young man at 5th and Hill carrying a pair of skis and ski boots drew some yoo-hoos from the sun worshipers who abound there … It isn't generally known that Edd Byrnes, the hair-combing Kookie
of "77 Sunset Strip" played a jive-talking killer in the series' pilot
film. He was so good they made him a nice guy. Now the teenage girls
adore him … Anyone else besides Blanche von Aspe notice that the new president of Family Service in Pasadena is Mrs. Willis Stork?

Posted in Columnists, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off

Paul Coates — Confidential File, April 17, 1959

Posted on April 17, 2009 by lmharnisch

Confidential File

The Time the Earth Shook So Gaudily

Some of us live a lifetime clinging to one moment.

John C. Crowe has.

Fifth-three
years ago tomorrow, he was a lonely boy of 17, orphaned by the death of
both parents. He was living in a tiny room on the third floor of a
rooming house at 6th and Howard Streets in San Francisco.

At exactly 5:13 a.m. on April 18, 1906, John C. Crowe's moment came.

"Even though it was 53 years ago, I remember it like it was yesterday afternoon," he told me.

What
he remembers is the San Francisco earthquake and fire, which killed
countless scores (the exact number has never been tabulated) and
leveled one of the world's great cities.

"The quake lasted one minute and 45 seconds," Mr. Crowe recalled. "But the fire went on for days.

"It's
a funny thing," he continued, "people up in San Francisco never like to
talk about the earthquake. They always refer to it as 'the big fire.'
But you wouldn't have had the fire without the quake, I always say."

I asked Mr. Crowe to tell me about those minutes right after the temblor.

"Well
as soon as my bed stopped going from wall to wall, I jumped up and ran
out into the street in my nightshirt. There was this big fissure. I
stumbled over it and fell flat on my face.

"It was sort of
silly, I guess. The sun was just coming up and as I look back on it now
it was a beautiful morning. But I didn't think of that then.

"I
looked up at the Brunswick House, a four-story hotel right across the
street. As I lay there, that huge building cracked right in the middle.
It cracked so easy like in slow motion.

"But all of a sudden the
top came down with a terrific crash. Plaster and lime rose 145 feet in
the air. Just like an atomic bomb cloud.

"Of course," he added, "we didn't have atomic bombs in those days."

The dazed youth got to his feet and, confident that the world was still in one piece, ran back to his room and dressed.

"When
I got back out on the street," he continued, "there was this little
Irish cop standing in front of the Brunswick House. In a voice thick
with brogue he told me, 'If you've got any heart in you, help get these
people out.' "

Young John accepted an ax and, in the company of his neighbors, began hacking away at the debris.

"We could hear people moaning and screaming inside," he told me. "It was just one big chorus."

Smoke began pouring from the demolished building and seconds later it erupted in flames.

Mr. Crowe and the brave Irish cop and the others were forced to retreat, the screams and moans still pounding at their ears.

"Only four people got out alive. Four out of more than 100," Mr. Crowe said.

That's part of the tragedy John Crowe recalls.

But there was grim humor, too.

"What was one of the major problems the city faced?" I asked him.

"Drunks,"
he answered. "Yes sir, drunks. We didn't have any water. So folks drank
whisky. People who'd never had a drop, some of them."

The Few Who Were There

Three years ago Mr. Crowe,
a retired druggist who has lived in Los Angeles for the last 40 years,
was a guest of the city of San Francisco. I asked him what he did to
mark the earthquake's 50th anniversary.

"I went back to 6th and Howard Streets and I lay down in the street and I thought about that other morning."

Mr. Crowe
got up to leave. "Would you do me a favor?" he asked. "If you write
something about me, tell everybody that all of us old-time San
Franciscans living here are going to get together tomorrow at MacArthur
Park to remember the quake.

"I don't expect many. There aren't a lot of us left."

Posted in Columnists, Paul Coates | Comments Off

In the Theaters — April 17, 1950

Posted on April 17, 2009 by lmharnisch

Posted in Film, Hollywood | Comments Off

Second Takes — Billy Wilder

Posted on April 17, 2009 by lmharnisch

Aug. 20, 1950: Coming soon: "Sunset Boulevard."

Nov. 6, 1948 Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard

Nov. 6, 1948: Gloria Swanson meets Billy Wilder and Charles Bracket to discuss "Sunset Boulevard."

Feb. 10, 1949: The script isn't done.

Above, Gloria Swanson and Melvyn Douglas in a clip from the 1931 picture "Tonight or Never."

But despite her long film career, Swanson made a screen test for "Sunset Boulevard," according to The Times, Feb. 17, 1949

Feb. 22, 1949, Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard

Feb. 22, 1949: Swanson is cast in "Sunset Boulevard."

March 4, 1949, Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard

March 4, 1949: The cast includes Montgomery Clift.

March 19, 1949: Clift is out.

March 27, 1949: Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard

March 27, 1949: A prophetic notice in The Times.

April 2, 1949, Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard

April 2, 1949, Erich von Stroheim returns to Hollywood to make "Sunset Boulevard."

May 28, 1950, Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard

May 28, 1950: The Times says William Holden had never seen Gloria Swanson in a film until working on "Sunset Boulevard."

At left, Sept. 22, 1950: Swanson and Von Stroheim are paid $430,592.11 USD 2007 for their roles in the film.

April 25, 1949, Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard

May 1, 1949, Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard

May 1, 1949: Swanson is emphatic that "Sunset Boulevard" is not autobiographical. Von Stroheim complains bitterly about being typecast by Hollywood.

June 1, 1949: Casting Hedda Hopper in "Sunset Boulevard" was a brilliant stroke of marketing as it ensured frequent plugs for the movie.

June 13, 1949 Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard

Above, a description of the opening that was cut from the final version of the film.

July 17, 1949, Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard

June 18, 1949, Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard

June 18, 1949: Hopper reports on her scene in the film.

Oct. 8, 1950, Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard

Wilder wanted Nancy Olson to look plain for her scenes in the film.

June 20, 1949, Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard

June 20, 1949: A Swanson impersonator is a regular on the set.

Above: "They'll love it in Pomona."

Jan. 3, 1950, Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard

Jan. 3, 1950: A photo shows people on the set while Holden and Swanson film a key scene.

Aug. 25, 1950: "There is just one primary issue and that is of public receptiveness to a story of this kind. Will people welcome tearing aside the curtain on much that is sinister and terrible in Hollywood? … 'Sunset Boulevard' … tells a sordid narrative that might very well be duplicated in real life. It minces no issues. It is threaded with bitterness, disillusionment and hovers ever over the age of despair."

– Edwin Schallert

July 19, 1950, Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard

Nov. 7, 1950, Billy Wilder, Sunset Boulevard

At left, one of the stranger items I've ever found in going through the old papers: An Earl Scheib ad that features "Sunset Boulevard." Scheib actually mentioned the movie several times in his ads.

Above, Nov. 7, 1950: Hopper reports that Brackett has signed a seven-year contract with Fox after the end of his deal with Wilder and Paramount.

Posted in 1950, Film, Hollywood, Second Takes | 1 Comment

Movie Star Mystery Photo

Posted on April 17, 2009 by lmharnisch

Los Angeles Times file photo

Aileen Pringle in the play "Tons of Money," 1932.

Our mystery movie star of the week is Aileen Pringle, Please congratulate Diane Ely, Floradora, Bob Birchard, Dewey Webb, Peter Mintun, Dru Duniway, Cynthia Keillor, Sam, R. Ahuna and Alekszandr for correctly identifying her.

Check back Monday for another mystery photo!

Just
a reminder on how this works: I post the mystery photo on Monday and
reveal the answer on Friday. To keep the mystery photo from getting
lost in the other entries, I move it from Monday to Tuesday to
Wednesday, etc., adding a photo every day.

I have to approve
all comments, so if your guess is posted immediately, that means you're
wrong. (And if a wrong guess has already been submitted by someone
else, there's no point in submitting it again.) If you're right, you
will have to wait until Friday. There's no need to submit your guess
five times. Once is enough. The only prize is bragging rights.

The answer to last week's photo: Diana Sands.

Los Angeles Times file photo

Update: Aileen Pringle, 1932.

Here's another photo of our mystery woman. Please congratulate Anne Papineau, Eve Golden and Diane Ely for identifying her. This print was butchered down to a one-column mug shot. Isn't it a great photo?

Los Angeles Times file photo

Update: Aileen Pringle and Helen Johnson in "Soldiers and Women," 1930.

Los Angeles Times file photo

Aileen Pringle, 1934. Her Mexican divorce caused trouble for ex-husband Charles McKenzie because it was not recognized under English law.

Photograph by the Los Angeles Times

Aileen Pringle discusses divorce from novelist James M. Cain, Sept. 5, 1946.

Aileen Pringle, 94; Star of Silent Screen

December 19, 1989

Aileen Pringle, an urbane socialite who became a
silent-screen star and the darling of such literary figures as H. L.
Mencken and George Jean Nathan, died Saturday in her Manhattan home
where she had entertained regularly since her retirement from movies
nearly 50 years ago.

She was 94.

Miss Pringle played
leading roles in more than 60 films. Two of her best known–"His Hour"
and "Three Weeks"–were based on scripts by Elinor Glyn. Miss Glyn had
hand-picked Miss Pringle for the latter role, that of a sensual heroine.

Known
for her sometimes off-color wisecracks as the silent camera captured
her movements, she was credited with a notable piece of Hollywood lore.

According
to the book "The Movies," Miss Pringle and Conrad Nagel were filming a
scene from "Three Weeks" in which he was carrying her horizontally. Her
lips are seen to move and, according to the book, she was not
whispering words of endearment to Nagel but was saying, "If you drop
me, you bastard, I'll break your neck."

Her other leading men included John Gilbert in adventure movies and Lew Cody in domestic farces.

Among
her other films were "Souls for Sale," "Earthbound," "Wife of the
Centaur," "A Kiss in the Dark," "Soul Mates," "Beau Broadway" and
"Puttin' on the Ritz."

She continued in films after the advent of sound but never with the impact of her earlier pictures.

She made brief appearances in two films of the 1940s, "Laura" and "Since You Went Away," before retiring.

Born
Aileen Bisbee in San Francisco to a wealthy family, she was educated in
private schools in Europe and first went on the stage in 1915. Her
first film was "Redhead" in 1919.

Her first husband was Charles
McKenzie Pringle, son of a former governor of Jamaica, and her second
was James M. Cain, author of "The Postman Always Rings Twice" and
"Mildred Pierce." Both marriages ended in divorce, the second in 1946
after less than a year. Cain died in 1977.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo | 60 Comments

Mystery Boy Found in Echo Park, Famous Poet Serenades Goats, April 17, 1939

Posted on April 17, 2009 by lmharnisch

The Times noted that Charles Owens had an art exhibit on the third floor of City Hall.

A 27-year-old man says he robbed the country club where he worked to provide a few essentials for his mother. He was sentenced to the six months on the road gang and probation.

Marx Brothers are at work on "A Day at the Circus."

Dr. Wong, a normally "placid Oriental," becomes agitated when he sees the Man-Lion statue in "Tarzan."

Joe Louis makes a surprise visit to the Main Street Gym.

Posted in Architecture, art and artists, books, Comics, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Nuestro Pueblo, Robberies, Sports | Comments Off

Found on EBay — Dyas Department Store

Posted on April 16, 2009 by lmharnisch

Here's something rather remarkable. According to the vendor, this is an unused vanity set — with the original box — sold by the Dyas department store in Los Angeles. Bidding starts at $9.99.

Posted in Fashion | Comments Off

Matt Weinstock — April 16, 1959

Posted on April 16, 2009 by lmharnisch

Crime and Punishment

A young
man named Len was stopped recently for an illegal left turn on Vermont
Ave. and, when it turned out he didn't have his driver's license, the
officer ran a routine check on him over the police radio.

Back came the word that there was an outstanding warrant against him for overparking in a one-hour zone, and he was instructed to follow the gendarme to the downtown jail.

Len
said he didn't remember any such parking citation and had never
received notice that the warrant would be issued, as is procedure, but
he was booked anyway.

BUT THE REAL SURPRISE was to come.
He was placed in a cell with several smudged characters and after
getting oriented, he asked one huge gentleman what he was in for.
"Assault with a deadly weapon," he said. Another was there for
burglary, a third for selling narcotics.

Then Len was asked why he was there and he said "Overparking."
They thought he was trying to be funny and they didn't think he was. He
finally convinced them but, as the crime reporters put it, mayhem was
narrowly averted.

A YOUNG MAN named George drove his girl named Grace to a wonderfully secluded spot overlooking the ocean at Point Fermin
the other night and, as they chatted about the weather and other
things, she suddenly inquired suspiciously. "Say, how did you happen to
find this place?"

"Oh." he replied. "I used to come up here with my buddy to watch the submarine races."

PARDON
The people in the Middle East
Eat shish kebab at every feast,
They have no cows, no lowing herds,
They have no whey but lots of Kurds.
-G.L Ertz

AS EVERYONE who has ever applied for a job with the federal government knows, he must fill out a Form 57.

The
other night a gal named Kathleen noticed the attendant in the powder
room of a luxurious Hollywood saloon was hard at work on an
official-looking form and asked, "Making out a 57?"

"No, ma'am," was the reply, "a 58."

Puzzled, Kathleen looked closer and — sure enough — it was a 58 — a form 1040 for last year.

OVER A
second cup of coffee a group of Hollywood writers were moaning about
how dull things were and wondering what they might do to liven up the
world a little, and one of them, MartinRagaway reports, said brightly, "Hey, why don't we park a Ford in Dinah Shore's driveway!"

JUNE MAY BE Daily
Month elsewhere, but a sign on the Great Western Livestock grounds off
Atlantic Blvd. states clearly it is Daily Month. Perhaps it is an
inadvertently typographical reminder to June brides to start checking
on June grooms from the start…And a poolside sign at a Santa Barbara
motel, BillLathan reports, states, "No laughter or other unnecessary noise." In other words, be grim when you swim.

MISCELLANY — How would you like to be the announcer when the Five Keys, a vocal group, plays the Austerbaljarbio
Theater in Reykjavik, Iceland, May 1-10?… Nice line by Jim Backus at
the Hollywood Women's Press Club Men's Day lunch: "He had the
personality of a cup of lard" … No truth to the rumor. Bob Manners
says, "that M. Chevalier will sing "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" as
the theme music for "Lolita" when it is filmed … Now don't forget,
Dorris Hellman reminds, when Daylight Savings begins Sunday, April 26,
it's "Spring forward, fall back"…Correction: It's people who cross
the equator, not the international dateline, who becomeShellbacks.

Posted in Columnists, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off

Paul Coates — Confidential File, April 16, 1959

Posted on April 16, 2009 by lmharnisch

CONFIDENTIAL FILE

We Should Be Told All the Mafia Facts

Yesterday's headlines posed a question vital to every citizen of the United States.

"Is the Mafia fact or fiction?" asked the black type.

The question was inspired by two opposing views.

One belonged to Alvin H. Goldstein Jr., described by newspaper stories as a former New York racket buster now probing crime in California.

The other belonged to Los Angeles Police Chief William H. Parker.

Mr. Goldstein,
32, was brought to California more than a year ago by Gov. Pat Brown
when the latter was attorney general of the state. The young
investigator was asked to survey criminal activities here.

His probe apparently led him to the conclusion that there is no Mafia in California.

And he said so.

In fact, declared Mr. Goldstein,
people who say there is a Mafia may some day be charged with
fabricating "the most colossal hoax ever thrust upon the American
public."

A pretty strong statement.

And one to which Parker took immediate and violent exception.

The Mafia is real and it is here, the chief said for the hundredth time.

He accused Mr. Goldstein of being a Johnny-come-lately who has "a lot to learn."

In an effort to throw some additional light on the controversy, without subscribing to either Goldstein's or Parker's views, I talked to another man with an opinion.

A
gentleman who has studied the Mafia problem for almost a quarter of a
century. He is Santa Ana's police chief, Edward J. Allen. And he was
reared in what he calls a Mafia stronghold in the eastern part of the
nation.

"Where I grew up, everyone knew about the organization," Chief Allen told me.

"We all knew about Mafia killings, so it is always a surprise to me to hear people deny the Mafia's existence."

"In other words," I said, "you definitely believe it exists?"

"Sure it exists," he answered.

"In California?" I continued.

"Not
to the extent that it does elsewhere," he explained. "Government in
California is much cleaner and that is also true of law enforcement,
which makes it tough for the Mafia to worm its way in."

"But the leaders are here," he added.

"They want to become respectable. That's why you see them moving into neighborhoods like Beverly Hills, for instance."

"It's
to the shame of legitimate society that they do gain entry to the
better areas. The Mafia contaminates everything it touches."

I asked Chief Allen about rumors that the Mafia is made up almost entirely of Americans of Sicilian birth or extraction.

"That's no rumor," he snapped. "That's fact. To attain top recognition within the group, you must be Sicilian."

"Then why," I continued, "do I hear names, obviously not Sicilian, mentioned as having Mafia connections?"

"That's easy," he answered. "They work with others. Use others.

"Oh, they'll accept financing from somebody else. But remember, although money talks, Mafia guns talk louder."

"Then you feel Goldstein was wrong in his appraisal of the Mafia's existence?" I asked the veteran law enforcement officer.

Let Us Examine the Record

"Absolutely," he said.

"Mr. Goldstein did the Mafia a great favor when he said it didn't exist. They'd like everyone to believe that."

I don't know. Maybe Goldstein is right when he says the Mafia is just a myth. But he was a trifle vague in explaining why he thinks so.

If he has facts to back his statement, I, for one, would like the hear them.

Posted in Columnists, Paul Coates | Comments Off

In the Theaters — April 16, 1947

Posted on April 16, 2009 by lmharnisch

Posted in Film, Hollywood | Comments Off

Second Takes — Billy Wilder

Posted on April 16, 2009 by lmharnisch

Nov. 4, 1948, Billy Wilder, A Song Is Born

Nov. 4, 1948: "A Song Is Born" opens in Los Angeles.

Nov. 5, 1948, Billy Wilder, A Song Is Born

Nov. 5, 1948: The Times reviews Howard Hawks' remake of "Ball of Fire" as a showcase for jazz musicians Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey, Charlie Barnett, Lionel Hampton and Mel Powell.

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Second Takes | 2 Comments

North Korea Shoots Down Navy Plane; Dodgers Beat Padres, 14-0, April 16, 1969

Posted on April 16, 2009 by lmharnisch

April 16, 1969, Jack Smith and Mr. Gomez

Jack Smith on God and Mr. Gomez.

April 16, 1969, North Korea Shoots Down Navy Plane

N. Korea a test for President Nixon.

Art Seidenbaum on talk radio.

Kevin Thomas on "Twisted Nerve."

1960s art influences the comics.

The Dodgers moved home plate 10 feet closer to center field during the winter and the maneuver immediately paid off.

The Dodgers clobbered the San Diego Padres, 14-0, in their home
opener with Andy Kosco hitting a grand slam and Tom Haller a three-run
home run. The small change in the field's dimensions made a big
difference.

"Neither would have been a home run a year ago. In fact, I think
both of them would have been caught–mine for sure," Haller told The
Times' John Wiebusch. "Andy's might have been off the fence but then
the more I think about it the more I think that 10 feet might have just
turned it into a big fat 0-for-1."

Kosco's home run landed in the first row of the left-field bleachers
and Haller's reached the first row in right field. The Dodgers had hit
only 25 home runs at Dodger Stadium in 1968.

–Keith Thursby

Posted in art and artists, broadcasting, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Jack Smith, Richard Nixon | Comments Off

Found on EBay — Williams and Walker.

Posted on April 15, 2009 by lmharnisch

A copy of "Abyssinia," by Williams and Walker, has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $2.95.

Posted in Music, Stage | Comments Off

Matt Weinstock — April 15, 1959

Posted on April 15, 2009 by lmharnisch

Prize for Pungency

Every year
the San Francisco Chronicle has a crayon drawing contest for
youngsters. Top prize is $25. Among this year's entrants was a bold,
impressionist drawing of a pig delivering the Chronicle to a farmhouse,
sent in by Roselita Gomez, 11, of Elk, Cal. It didn't win.

A few days after the winners were announced the contest editor received
a letter from Roselita stating bitterly, "You work and work and work
and all you get is a kick in the pants." (She used another word.)

It was the feeling of the staff that no one had ever said it better and
they chipped in and raised $35 — $10 more than first prize — and sent
it to Roselita.

Now when a discouraging word is heard in the Chronicle city room, the
complainant is warned he better be careful or he'll develop a "Gomez
complex."

ONLY IN L.A. — A girls' group planned a hayride and one of
them called Information and asked if there were any horse stables in
the area. "How do you spell the last name?" the operator asked … A
downtown editor received a printed invitation requesting "the pleasure
of your attention" to a TV program — with an RSVP. If this is living
modern he doesn't know if he can stand it.

SPRING IS FOR THE BIRDS

Oh joyous robin of the spring
I too a sprightly song would sing.
Were I forever free , as you,
From internal revenue

— Guy Mullen

THE PHONE RANG at William Adams'
home the other night and a recorded voice told him he had won a set of
carving knives sponsored by a vacuum cleaner company and asked when he
and his wife would be home for a demonstration.

Fascinated by such salesmanship, he phoned
the number given in the message and reported that he was unmarried.
This disqualified him, he was told. "We only give out knives when there
is a demonstration to both husband and wife," the lady said severely.

The remark haunts him.

PITY THE poor, confused writer in an era like this.

Weekly Variety has this item: "It's an
open secret that Hollywood is giving originals the brush." In an
adjoining column, this: "After a period of decline the original screen
story is coming back to Hollywood."

THERE'S A STORY going around about a boy
who unaccountably stopped talking. His parents took him to one
psychiatrist after another but he failed to respond. Then, one night at
dinner, he exclaimed, "My bread is not buttered!"

The parents excitedly called in the neighbors. Everyone waited to hear his next words. Despite coaxing, he remained silent.

"Johnny," his mother soothed, "We know you
can talk. But why in the world when you started talking again did you
say such an unimportant thing as 'My bread is not buttered'?"

"Well," he replied, "up to now everything has been all right."

AT RANDOM — A man pushing a market
shopping cart on Imperial Highway in Downey was waving a red kerchief
to ward off motorists, who honked anyway … Some City Hall saboteur is
sending out disparaging comments about Norrie [Mayor Norris Poulson — lrh] on office memo
stationary … Ivan Nemo hasn't quite recovered from a sign on Highway
395 between Riverside and Escondido, "Eat and Gas 500 Feet"… Radio
people are talking about the interruption on a religious program last
Sunday on KHJ. As the minister said, " And God said…" the announcer
broke in with, "This is a SigAlert bulletin!"

Posted in Columnists, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off

Paul Coates — Confidential File, April 15, 1959

Posted on April 15, 2009 by lmharnisch

CONFIDENTIAL FILE

There Was no Dame, That Was a Duchess

The telephone on my desk jangled.

"Hello," I said. It seemed a logical thing to say.

"You heard about Goya?" the breathless voice at the other end of the line wanted to know.

"You mean old Francisco Jose de?" I asked brightly, "The Spanish painter?"

"That's the one," the voice informed me. "He's been banned."

"Serves him right," I said knowingly. "Carrying on with that Duchess de Alba. Him with a wife and kids."

"No, no," said the voice. "Goya is dead."

"Cholesterol . . .?" I began hesitantly.

The voice cut me short.

"Goya's BEEN dead for 131 years."

I thought I detected a patronizing tone.

"It's a picture he painted that's been banned," the voice continued. My name is Scholl. I'm with United Artists."

"Oh?" I murmured. "I must have missed your last picture."

"I'm not in pictures," the voice assured me. "I promote pictures."

Ten seconds of oppressive silence followed while I digested the confession.

"Promote…?" I asked fearfully.

"Promote!" the voice declared.

"And that's my problem," he continued. "They won't let me promote 'The Naked Maja.'"

"Ruddy shame," I sympathized.

"Ruddy
right," the voice agreed. " All I tried to do was use a reproduction of
Goya's famous painting in newspaper ads. Papers wouldn't accept 'em.

"Just because the dame in the picture is nude."

"That was no dame, that was the duchess," I corrected. "Anyway, it does seem pretty narrow-minded."

"And that's what Goya's life is all about," the voice said.

"Really?" I replied.

"Really, About how Goya painted the Duchess de Alba in the nude. Andy how her husband, the Duke, found out."

I brightened. After all, these spicy little tidbits are always good. Even if they are 131 years old.

"You say the Duke found out?" I asked.

"Everybody did. It was all over town. Quite a scandal."

Try, Try Again

"I'll bet," I said.

"So Goya had to do it all over again," the voice said.

"You mean…?" I began.

"Yep. Goya painted her with clothes on."

"Ruddy…" I began.

"Shame,"
he concluded. "And how's it going to look if I use a painting of a dame
with clothes on when I'm trying to promote a picture called 'The Naked Maja'?" the voice demanded.

"Beats me," I admitted.

"Wouldn't be right. No punch. No socko, No sell," the voice insisted.

"Just not box-office," I added helpfully. "But what can I do about it?"

"Write something," he said.

"What?" I asked.

"I don't know," he confided. "Just something to arouse the people."

I promised him I would. And I will.

So, all right, everybody, up!

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood, Paul Coates | Comments Off

Paul Coates — April 18, 1959

Ventura County

Vice Jury May Call Cohen

In the Theaters — April 18, 1953

Second Takes — Billy Wilder

Gold Hunters Dig for Lost Underground Empire of the Lizard People!

Found on EBay — Oviatt’s

Matt Weinstock — April 17, 1959

Cans! Cans! Cans!

Paul Coates — Confidential File, April 17, 1959

Confidential File

The Time the Earth Shook So Gaudily

In the Theaters — April 17, 1950

Second Takes — Billy Wilder

Movie Star Mystery Photo

Aileen Pringle, 94; Star of Silent Screen

Mystery Boy Found in Echo Park, Famous Poet Serenades Goats, April 17, 1939

Found on EBay — Dyas Department Store

Matt Weinstock — April 16, 1959

Crime and Punishment

Paul Coates — Confidential File, April 16, 1959

CONFIDENTIAL FILE

We Should Be Told All the Mafia Facts

In the Theaters — April 16, 1947

Second Takes — Billy Wilder

North Korea Shoots Down Navy Plane; Dodgers Beat Padres, 14-0, April 16, 1969

Found on EBay — Williams and Walker.

Matt Weinstock — April 15, 1959

Prize for Pungency

Paul Coates — Confidential File, April 15, 1959

CONFIDENTIAL FILE

There Was no Dame, That Was a Duchess

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Vice Jury May Call Cohen

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Cans! Cans! Cans!

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The Time the Earth Shook So Gaudily

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Aileen Pringle, 94; Star of Silent Screen

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Crime and Punishment

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CONFIDENTIAL FILE

We Should Be Told All the Mafia Facts

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Prize for Pungency

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CONFIDENTIAL FILE

There Was no Dame, That Was a Duchess

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